CARS vol 2 passage 7

Passage 17 (Questions 91–95)

Though it cannot be said of all teachers of literature, it is common to find teachers indifferent to the kinds of poetry and fiction that go most directly for those values we associate with simple entertainment – popular lyrics, drugstore paperbacks, and so forth. The reason may in some cases be snobbery, but probably just as often the cause is the sensitive reader's too frequent experience of disappointment – the boring sameness found at its extreme in the scripts of television Westerns, cop-shows, and situation comedies. Driven off by too much that is merely commercial – often shoddy imitation of authentic originality in the realm of the popular – we fail to notice that popular song writers . . . can be dedicated, energetic poets more interesting than many of the weary sophisticates, true-confessors, and randy academics we encounter in the "little magazines," and that drugstore fiction can often have more to offer than fiction thought to be of a higher class. . . . In theory it may be proper that teachers ignore thrillers, science fiction, and the comic books. No one wants Coleridge pushed from the curriculum by a duck "trapped in a world he never made!" But when we begin to list the contemporary "serious" writers who fill high-school and literature courses, Howard the Duck can look not all that bad.

The snobbery or limited range of teachers is one of the reasons we forget to think about interest in the sense of immediate appeal; but another cause may be more basic. The business of education is to give the student both useful information and life-enhancing experience, one largely measurable, the other not; and since the life-enhancing value of a course in literature is difficult to measure – since, moreover, many people in a position to put pressure on educational programs have no real experience in or feeling for the arts – it is often tempting to treat life-enhancement courses as courses in useful information, putting them on the same "objective" level as courses in civics, geometry, or elementary physics. So it comes about that books are taught (officially, at least) not because they give joy, the incomparably rich experience we ask and expect of all true art, but because, as a curriculum committee might put it, they "illustrate major themes in American literature," or "present a clearly stated point of view." . . .

At all levels, . . . novels, short stories, and poems have for years been taught not as experiences that can delight and enliven the soul but as things that are good for us, like vitamin C. The whole idea of the close critical analysis of literary works . . . has had the accidental side effect of leading to the notion that the chief virtue of good poetry and fiction is instructional. If we look at the famous . . . anthologies designed to teach analysis . . ., we cannot help noticing that . . . the authors suggest that what makes a piece of literature "good" is the writer's thorough and orderly exploration of ideas, [the] full development of the implications of [a] theme. What these authors suggest is in important ways true . . . : However dazzling and vivid the characters, however startling the action, no piece of fiction can be of lasting interest if its thought is confused, simpleminded, or plain wrong. On the other hand, reading fiction or poetry without regard for the delight it can give – its immediate interest – can mutilate the experience of reading.

The author’s claim that some popular songwriters can be “dedicated, energetic poets” is supported by:

A

the testimony of some literature teachers.

B

examples of popular song lyrics.

Answer choice eliminated

C

comparison with more academic poets.

D

an analysis of Coleridge's poetry.

Solution: The correct answer is C.

1. Although some teachers of literature are exempted from the general indifference that the passage author considers common, no testimony from them is cited.

2. No example of song lyrics is provided.

3. These song writers are “more interesting than many of the . . . randy academics”.

4. The name Coleridge is simply mentioned as an item on a curriculum.

The author most likely believes that one of the main purposes of teaching fiction and poetry should be to provide students with:

A

an awareness of major literary themes.

B

a sense of objectivity.

C

an ability to analyze texts.

D

engaging experiences.

Solution: The correct answer is D.

1. The author writes disparagingly and rather sarcastically of this restriction in literary instruction: “since the life-enhancing value of a course in literature is difficult to measure–since, moreover, many people in a position to put pressure on educational programs have no real experience in or feeling for the arts–it is often tempting to treat life-enhancement courses as courses in useful information . . . [so] books are taught . . . because, as a curriculum committee might put it, they ‘illustrate major themes in American literature’”.

2. Putting a course in literature “on the same ‘objective’ level as courses in civics, geometry, or elementary physics” is attributed to ignorance.

3. Although the passage author acknowledges that the message of anthologies designed to teach analysis “is in important ways true”, the passage opposes the classroom emphasis on form: “the whole idea of the close critical analysis of literary works has had the accidental side effect of leading to the notion that the chief virtue of good poetry and fiction is instructional”.

4. The passage author evidently believes that “the business of education is to give the student life-enhancing experience”, “the incomparably rich experience we ask and expect of all true art”, “experiences that can delight and enliven the soul”.

Given the information in the passage, if “drugstore fiction” were taught in literature classes, which of the following outcomes would most likely occur?

A

Teachers would realize that the interpretation of literature varies depending on students’ reading skills.

Answer choice eliminated

B

Committees would change curriculum objectives for most literature courses.

C

Students would enjoy the classes more.

D

Students would better understand literary terms like “point of view.”

Solution: The correct answer is C.

1. The concepts of various interpretations and differential reading skills are not addressed.

2. The passage author contends that in planning the curricula of literature courses, academic committees choose books that “‘illustrate major themes in American literature,’ or ‘present a clearly stated point of view’”. The passage does not suggest that these objectives would change if the curricula included popular fiction.

3. Drugstore paperbacks are cited as an example of “the kinds of poetry and fiction that go most directly to those values we associate with simple entertainment”.

4. Since the analytic emphasis in literature classes is attributed to “people who have no real experience in or feeling for the arts”, the inclusion of popular fiction in literary courses would probably not affect this emphasis. Nevertheless, the passage provides no reason to conclude that textual analysis would be better served by the popular works than by traditional course materials.

The author suggests that the study of literature is much less rewarding when it:

A

focuses solely on critical analysis.

B

does not provide students with useful information.

Answer choice eliminated

C

concentrates on the pleasures of merely commercial entertainments.

Answer choice eliminated

D

is treated as a life-enhancing experience.

olution: The correct answer is A.

1. According to the passage author, the rewarding aspect of works of literature is that “they give joy, the incomparably rich experience we ask and expect of all true art”. This experience occurs during reading; it is “immediate”. It is therefore presumably weakened during a careful analysis of the text for its “exploration of ideas [and] . . . development of the implications of a theme”.

2. The passage author opposes the treatment of “life-enhancement courses as courses in useful information” and extols reading for pleasure as the rewarding experience offered by literature. This position implies that a disregard for useful information would be more likely to enhance than to reduce the rewards of literary study.

3. While acknowledging “the boring sameness found at its extreme in the scripts of television Westerns, cop-shows, and situation comedies . . . [which are] merely commercial”, the passage author does not condemn all commercial entertainment nor denigrate the pleasure it can provide, arguing “that popular song writers can be . . . more interesting than many [contemporary 'serious’ writers] . . . and that drugstore fiction can often have more to offer than fiction thought to be of a higher class”.

4. The life-enhancing value of courses in literature is asserted. The problem identified by the passage author is that this value is misunderstood by insensitive but influential persons and so supplanted by inappropriate criteria that are more easily measured.

Suppose the majority of high-school students have read at least one work by the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov for a literature class. This new information would most CHALLENGE the claim that:

A

no piece of fiction can be lasting if it is simpleminded.

Answer choice eliminated

B

literature courses usually meet prescribed curriculum objectives.

Answer choice eliminated

C

the people who determine school curricula are generally ignorant of literature.

Answer choice eliminated

D

literature teachers are prejudiced against popular genres.

1. They would presumably not be simpleminded but rather among the drugstore fiction that has “more to offer than fiction thought to be of a higher class”. Furthermore, the information provided does not imply that the works chosen had already proved to have lasting merit.

2. No information is offered about over-all course content. However, even if the classes deal exclusively with popular works, the passage argument does not justify the conclusion that supposedly analytic curriculum objectives have been jeopardized. The works students read and the success of teachers in meeting their instructional goals are separate issues.

3. The reason for the curriculum choices is not apparent. The inclusion of works by Asimov might indicate either an appreciation of their originality and interest or the ignorance of those with “no real experience in or feeling for the arts”.

4. The passage implies that teachers of literature have some latitude in choosing the works covered in their classes. Therefore, the information that the science fiction was read for high-school classes suggests that many teachers of literature are not prejudiced against popular genres.